Red Sox trading 1 of 2 star outfielders could impact MLB trade deadline

The Boston Red Sox have a crowded outfield.

So crowded that the top prospect in all of baseball, Roman Anthony, has had to spend a bunch of time as the DH in his first foray into the major leagues.

And if Boston can’t push itself into AL East contention in a hurry, a trade or two could be on tap.

MLB Trade Rumors lists two of the Red Sox star outfielders as top trade candidates before the deadline: Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu.

Here’s the logic provided on Duran:

“Duran is a season removed from a top-10 MVP finish when he hit .285/.342/.492 while appearing in 160 games. His numbers are down this year, as he carries a league-average .253/.312/.409 slash in nearly 400 plate appearances. Duran almost never misses a game and has 20-homer upside. He’s an excellent baserunner who has shown the ability to play a plus left field — though the defensive metrics differ on his performance this season. The optics of trading him within six weeks of dealing Devers would be terrible. Still, the Red Sox recently added top prospect Roman Anthony to a heavily left-handed outfield. They could get a haul for Duran at three and a half seasons of control.”

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And here’s the reasoning for potentially dealing Abreu:

“The same logic about Boston’s outfield applies to Abreu. He hasn’t shown quite the ceiling that Duran did in 2024 but he’s having the better ’25 season of the two. Abreu is already at a career-high 17 homers with a .261/.329/.506 line in 76 games. Most of that has come in a platoon capacity, as he hasn’t had much of a chance to improve upon his lifetime .198/.274/.302 slash against left-handed pitching. Abreu is still a year from arbitration and controllable for four seasons beyond this one. The Sox would demand a significant return even if he’s more of a strong-side platoon bat than a true All-Star caliber everyday player.”

The Red Sox are big fans of Ceddanne Rafaela in centerfield, so he seems likely to stay put.

And Anthony won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

It’s nice that Boston has strength in the outfield, but to contend for years to come in the top-end AL East, the Red Sox probably need to diversify their talent a bit. 

Duran or Abreu would be one of the best players moved at the deadline, which could bring back a big haul.

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